How tech improves business customer relationships

Mar 1, 2016

How technology has improved connections between you and your customers

It’s hard to imagine a world where technology isn’t driving things forward at a rate of knots. It’s a permanent fixture in everyday life and guides you through your day from the time you wake up, until the time you go to sleep. Every year brings with it even more sophisticated technologies and opportunities for businesses and consumers. It enhances customer service, broadens marketing insights and can cut down on communication costs.

As a business owner or manager, it’s now more important than ever to stay on top of technology trends. Customers have a certain level of expectation, and companies that don’t adhere to convenient ways of doing business can seem stuck in the past and unattractive to do business with.

Here’s a look at how technology has improved connections between you and your customers.

Customer services

Customer service should be a top priority for start-ups and established businesses. The internet and social media have made it far easier for customers to give an honest review to anyone who will pay attention. It’s not enough to produce an excellent product and have mediocre customer service. Reputation is everything.

Technology has helped both business and customer in this aspect. Your website is the hub of all the information a customer may need. You should have a section dedicated to frequently asked questions or a community that helps guide each other. It’s also a good idea to use email as a way to receive questions and comments from your customers. You must make sure you respond efficiently and don’t leave customers hanging. Use email to its full potential and you’ll receive customers’ praise.

Being as cohesive and transparent as possible will help you to gain loyalty from your customer base. Do this by using data management tools that help you to recognise each customer. This way, you’ll know when they have made a phone call or sent an email asking the same thing, and you won’t need to send duplicate responses.

Marketing

Your marketing strategy is a crucial element of future success. Technology has made the process more intricate and detailed. Historically, it was hard work to gain insight into a person’s particular needs and wants. It resulted in conducting surveys, focus groups and spending a lot of money on marketing campaigns that may or may not reach the right people.

Technology has given marketers access to precious data, which can be collected and analysed. This type of data can lead to a personalised experience as customers’ preferences are considered. Insight-driven marketing also helps your business by understanding what your customers are thinking.

Marketing automation saves time and manpower by effectively managing social media, websites, email and other lines of communication. The automation of repetitive tasks, which otherwise would need to be completed by a person, will also save you money.

Devices

It’s no secret that you and your customers spend a significant amount of the day using a mobile device. People are connected through smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, work computers, home laptops, smart TVs, and much more.

It’s not enough to have a beautiful website that looks great on a desktop computer alone. In 2014, mobiles took over from the desktop as the most frequently used device on a global scale. The number has continued to grow, and will continue for the foreseeable future. You need to be present on all devices to ensure your business is heard.

Developing an app or mobile-friendly website will give you the opportunity to introduce self-service capabilities to your end user. Research has shown that customers like to help themselves and interact with businesses when it suits them, and not the other way around.

Instant chat help

Instant chat gives your customers the ability to ask questions, gain insight and express feedback without picking up the phone or composing an email. No matter how effective your website is, sometimes customers need to speak to an expert in real time. Research from 2013 shows that live chat had the highest percentage of customer satisfaction when compared with both email and phone.

Live chat will keep your customers happy, which in turn should result in a higher purchase order and customer retention.

Technology has and always will grow and develop over time. It’s been a saving grace for some businesses and staying on top of what’s to come will help to keep yours at the front of the pack.